Axle nut attachment



(ModeL) G. W. AMOS.

AXLE NUT ATTACHMENT. No. 362,922. Patented May 17, 1887.

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. FIt IQE GEORGE \V. AMOS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONFIIALF TOSIDNEY S. NILES, OF SAME PLACE.

AXLE-NUT ATTACH MENT.

SPECIFICATION forming, part of Letters Patent No. 362,922, dated May 17,1887. Application filed September 23, IRFG. Serial No. H4378. tModel.)

T0 ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. AMos, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in AxleNnt Attachments; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is an axial section of the front portion ofa vehicle-hub to which my improvements are adapted; Fig. 2, a transversesec tion' of the same at line x :0; Fig. 3, a similar View at line 3/ 1Fig. 4, a detail elevation of the parts in an engaged position, the huband band being shown in section; Fig. 5, a similar View of the parts ina disengaged position; Fig. 6, a face view of the axlennt; and Fig. 7 anelevation, partly in section, of a modified arrangement of parts.

Similarletters ofreference indicate like parts in the several views.

My invention relates to that class of axle nut attachments in which awrcnclrhead is arranged to move in the hub-band and engage the axle-nut,so that a rotation of the wheel will cause the axlenut to screw upon thethreaded axle end, or off from the same, as desired; and my presentimprovement has for its objects, first, to provide an improvedconstruction of axle-nut, whereby the screwing or jamming too tightly ofthe same upon the axle end is prevented in a very effective manner;second, to supply a simple, cheap, and durable means for automaticallydisengaging the wrench-head from the axle-nut after the same has beenturned or screwed up to its proper position on the axle end; third, tofurnish means for securely holding the said wrenchhead in a position outof engagement with the axle-nut after the same has been applied, and,fourth, to afford a simple and effective means for locking the cover'eapof the hub-band from disengagement after it has been screwed into place.

To enable others skilled in. the art to which my invention appertains tomake and use the same, Iwill now proceed to more particularly describethe mechanism employed to attain the above-mentioned objects.

Referring to the drawings, Arepresents one end of the axle, threaded inthe usual manner; 13, a portion of the hub; O, the outer hubbund. and I)the axle-nut, provided with the usual washer-cavity for the axle-washera.

In the present improvement this axle-nut is provided with one or moreprojecting lugs, d, parallel with its axis, and which are engagedpreferably by a wrench-head, as hereinafter described, in applying orremoving said nut to or from the threaded axle end. The forward orapplying faces, (1, of such lugs are made beveled or inclined, as shown,so that with the increased resistance met with as the axle-nut reachesits proper position on the threaded axle end said inclined faces willcause the wrench-head tomove longitudinally out of engagement therewith.The rear or removing faces, 0, of the lugs will be made straight, orwithouttheabove-described bevel, as a positive attachment between thenut and its operating wrench-head is desirable in the operation ofunscrewing the axle-nut.

This improved form of nut is adapted for use in connection with anysuitable form of wrench-head that will engage itslongitudinally-projecting lugs; yet preference is given to theconstruction of parts shown in the drawings, as providing aself-contained antomatieally-opcrating mechanism for applying andremoving the nut when required. in this E rep resents thewrcnchhead,adapted to move longitudinally in the hub-band and caused to turntherewith by means of guide-splines 0 on the inner periphery of thehub-band, that are embraced by lugs on the wrench-head, as shown. Anyother equivalent means for connecting said wrench-head in alongitudinallyadjustable manner to the hubband may be employed, insteadof that above described, without departing from the spirit of myinvcntion.

The wrenclrhead E is provided with longitudially-projecting lugs c e,counterparts of the 9 axle-nnt lugs d d, and with similarly-formed facese 6*, as shown.

The longitudinal movement of the wrenchhead E will be sufficient tobring the lugs e ontirely out of the path of the lugs d, and thewrench-head isheld in either an in or out position by the followingmeans:

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F are radially-moving bars,arranged to slide in the fore part of thewrench-head and having an outward tendency imparted to them by springsf, as shown. These bars,which I term spring latch-bars, bear against theinner periphery of the hub-band, and in their path are arrangedinwardly-projecting V-shaped lugs 0 upon the said hub-band. The inclinedfaces of these lugs constitute stops for retaining the wrench-head inthe required position until overcome by a superior force. Such force issupplied in moving the wrench-head into engagement with the axle-nut,when it is desired to remove the same, by the pressure of the finger orother suitable means inserted through a central opening in the cap orcover G of the hub-band. Said force is supplied when the wrench-head isto be forced out or disengaged by the inclined faces d c ofthe lugs dand c after the axle-nut has reached its proper position on the'axleend.

It is evident that the relativepo'sition of the parts above describedcan be modified and transposed without affecting the working of myimprovement. Forinstance, the yielding contact or engagement formed bythe inclined faces of the nut-lugs and the wrench-head may be transposedto any other suitable point between the nut and the point of frictionalresistance caused by the latch-bars F, preferably between thewrench-head and the hubband, as in such case the guide-splines 0 can beemployed to form one member of the aforesaid yielding contact provisionby arranging them in a spiral or inclined direction to the axis of theparts. Again, the minordetails of construction may be similarly varied.

In Fig. 7 I show one of such modified arrangements, in which springs Htake the place of the lugs c, andfixed lugs F the place of the springlatch-bars F, to effect a like result to that before described.

In another modified arrangement (not illus trated) the lugs c c arereplaced bya central stem projecting inwardly from a wrench-cap andhaving inclined projections on its sides similar to the lugs c, that areengaged by a pair of sprin g-bars substantially similar to the springlatch-bars F, other than that their springs are arranged to force theminwardly against the inclined faces or sides ofthe aforesaid centralstem.

The hub-cap G screws'into the hub-band in the usual manner, and is heldfrom turning by pin projection or project-ions 9 upon its inner facebeing engaged by corresponding recesses, e", in the outer face of'theadjustable wrench-head E, when the same is in its outer position, whichis its normal position during the use of the vehicle.

I is a rubber or other cushion inserted in the cap G to form an abutmentfor the wrenchhead E, to prevent rattling of the parts in use.

NVith my improvement the nut is always held within the cavity of the hubin proper position to receive the threaded axle end. The

leakage of the lubricant is entirely prevented, as well as the soilingof the hands of the operator, in removing or applying the wheel; butwhat is of greater moment is the prevention of any liability to breakagedue to the amming or binding of the same, which, with my improvement, isautomatically relieved before a point of danger is reached.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new,anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an axle-nut attachment, substantially as set forth, an axle-nutprovided with an applying lug orlugs having the inclined face (1,substantially as set forth.

2. In an axle-nut attachment, substantially as set forth, an-axle-nutprovided with an applying lug or lugs having the inclined face (1 andstraight face (1 substantially as set forth.

3. A means for connecting hubs to axles, the same consisting of anaxle-nut provided with an inclined-faced lug or lugs and an adjustablewrench-head provided with counterpart lug or lugs, substantially as setforth.

4. A means for connecting hubs to axles, the same consisting of anaxle-nut provided with an inclined-faced. lug or lugs, alongitudinally-adjustable wrench-head provided with counterpart lug orlugs, and a spring latch device, substantially as herein described, forholding the wrench-head in or out of engagement, substantially as setforth.

5. The combination, substantially. as set ,forth, of the axlenutprovided with lug or lugs cl, having'inclined faces ti and straightfaces d, the wrench-head E, having counterpart lug or lugs, the springlatch-bars F, and hub-band 0, having inclined lugs c, substantial] y asset forth.

6. In an axle-nut attachment, substantially 'as herein described, thecombination of the adjustable wrench-head E, having recess e", the

hub-cap G, having pin projection g, and hubband C, for the purpose setforth.

7. In an axle-nut attachment, substantially as herein described, thecombination of the adjustable wrench-head E and hub-cap G, pro videdwith a rubber cushion, I, for the purpose set forth. p

8. In an axle-nut attachment, substantially as herein described, thehub-bandQprovided with inclined lugs 0, arranged as described, and forthe purpose set forth.

'9. A means for connecting hubs to axles, the same comprising anaxle-nut, an adjust-able wrench-head for the same, a frictionalresistance device, as F, in combination with inclined engaging-surfaceslocated at a point between the axle-nut and the hub-band parts,substantially as set forth.

.In testimony whereof witness my hand this 20th day of September, 1886.

GEORGE W. AMOS. In presence of ROBERT BURNS, S. S. NILns.

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